I’ve been longing for a little a bit of travel, although living in Nice is in itself a journey. But when I pay 4 euros for a bottle of Tabasco, and about the same for chapstick (with no SPF might I add), i’m trying to be a bit careful with my expenses. Thankfully, my monthly bus pass includes unlimited trips to one of the most beautiful bays in the Meditarranean, Villefranche-Sur-Mer.

To anyone in the right state of mind, the 20 minute bus ride from Nice to Villefranche is worth it. Although I’m sure that Matisse, Picasso, and Jean Cocteau had more elegant means of transportation, I decided that I at least deserved to set my eyes on the same natural beauties that made these renowned artists fall in love with the French Riviera.

I am still wondering whether it was the colorful, traditional  hilltop homes overlooking the silent sea, the fishing boats floating in the clear blue, ink-spotted waters, the greenery cascading onto the beach and into the waves, or the cobblestone covered streets that mesmerized the artists. For me, it was simply that it was all just SO French.

Blame it on the guitarist that got down on one knee to serenade me as I walked by, but I felt as though I was living in a scene straight out of Fitzgerlad’s Tender is the Night.